November 2010
4 November 2010
The Rhino Iguanas at Australia Zoo are in for a treat. They have a brand new home!
With spring well and truly here, it's starting to warm up again and the reptiles at Australia Zoo are coming out and getting active. Unlike reptiles, who quiet down, the rest of Australia Zoo were very busy all through winter, making lots of exciting changes including building some new enclosures.
One of our newest additions here at Australia Zoo is the display enclosure for our Rhinoceros Iguanas (Cyclura cornuta), located near the admissions area, besides the Croc Lair shop. The enclosure is divided into two separate areas with Mr. Jingles and his girlfriend Pinko living on one side and Rhino himself living next door.
The new enclosure was designed to replicate the Rhino Iguanas natural habitat, the coastal rocky shoreline of the islands of Hispaniola. You will notice trickling waterfalls in the enclosure, just like the numerous waterfalls found along the overgrown cliffs on the Hispaniola islands, which provide a source of freshwater for the animals. We have also created a tropical beach for the lizards to roam around and the main display rock in each enclosure is heated, giving them a nice high basking platform from which to observe what's going on around them!
Rhino Iguanas are primarily herbivores, eating fruit, leaves and flowers, however they will occasionally supplement their diet with insects and larger prey items like small birds and mammals. The Rhinoceros Iguana gets its name from the horn like growths on the end of its nose.
So next time you're visiting Australia Zoo, make sure you pop around and say hi to our Rhino Iguanas!
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